#i need widespread fic curation

[bowenoke]

any ao3 user who has ever made a collection by just adding fics that all have similar premises or tropes owns my entire heart. Yes I DO want to read the same fic I just read but a little different this time. Yes I DO want 41 fics that all have the same premise but follow through on it differently. godspeed dude. No idea where you're finding these

I need more,,, I need to be able to subscribe to users' curated lists or something

#like reading a fic with insane worldbuilding and being like :( i wish there were more fics like this #and then you scroll up. and in collections theres like. 'ryan's 300 worldbuilding fics with similar traits' #best feeling #i need widespread fic curation

[imakemywings]

A bit controversial, hope you're not angry about me bringing it up. It's just, not to be an asshole, but the fandom's (some) outcry over sexism in Tolkien's work makes me laugh as a woman myself. I understand where they are going, but like for them to point fingers at the author for being sexist, not realizing some of their opinions are straight-up borderline sexist is too funny for me. The amount of vitriol that Tolkien's female characters receive, the way they are victims of circumstances who have to make decisions but are shamed for it ten times over while the male characters are given so so much sympathy is why I laugh at popular posts/fics whining about that. They take these female characters for granted, they ask for more but can't handle the ones who are freaking nice but had to make big decisions. What do you think about it?

Honestly, the discussion of sexism in Tolkien's work is ever ongoing, but your point is very valid and it's something I've discussed with other fans.

Setting aside a discussion of any sexism of Tolkien himself (which is present, to what degree people may debate over), often we really see the fandom just recreating a slightly different flavor of sexism?

Where's that post that's like "you all ask for more evil female characters but you can't even handle a female character being impolite 1 time"? Obviously the "Tolkien fandom" is not really the monolith the name implies, but there is a level of comedy in seeing people complain that there aren't enough plot-relevant female characters (true--Curufin's wife birthed Feanor's only grandchild, and we don't even know her name? None of the Noldor wives go to Middle-earth except Elenwe who dies on the way? [And Edhellos but that's not in Silm proper iirc]) but then ALSO go and like, call Idril racist because she didn't want to fuck her creepy cousin (overlooking that Idril herself is of mixed Elven heritage; mom was a Vanya).

I think there are a LOT of instances where female characters are attacked and shamed and subject to headcanons about their selfishness and incompetence because they were put in a very difficult situation where there was no "safe" option, and that a male character in that position would have been given a LOT more grace by the fandom (look how people will bend over backwards to argue the Feanorians are not guilty of mass murder several times over).

But this isn't unique to the Tolkien fandom by ANY means--female characters get brushed aside to focus on their male peers, villainized to suit a male character's needs, and generally looked own on across fandoms. It's just particularly ironic here because of the discussion on the sexism in Tolkien's writing--which the fandom then goes ahead and recreates, sometimes worse than it is in the books. But it is something I've seen in virtually every fandom where I've spent time (Look at the way Mel Medarda is treated by the Arcane fandom; look at the way Bianca Davri is treated by the Dragon Age fandom; look at the way Skylar White was treated by the Breaking Bad fans, etc.)

However, I do think this has actually gotten better since I was younger and involved in fandom? Obviously it varies by online space and it's still an issue, but it feels like the vitriol was far more widespread when I was a young teenager. It feels like there's been a greater movement in the last several years to cut back on this kind of behavior and encourage a more positive environment for female characters...or maybe I'm just in more curated spaces now so I don't stumble upon nearly as much of it as I used to.

Anyway, anon, if you need some Tolkien blogs to follow who give female characters their due, just let me know! Happy to give some recs.

#asks #anonymous

[liathejedi]

In light of the most recent controversy on the dinluke tag I think we as a community need to recap the concept of tagging specific content. The entire purpose of tagging, whether it be on tumblr, AO3, or literally any social media platform, is to indicate what exactly is included in whatever you’ve just posted - the writing on the tin, essentially.

‘Curating your own experience’ is a sentence that has been thrown around a lot recently, and yes, it’s important to build and regulate your own interactions in fandom and the types of content you consume. But that involves both parties to do so. You cannot curate your content if that content is not labelled. One of the main issues here is that dark content, or triggering content, is being mislabeled or simply not tagged at all. I know that in most cases, this is completely accidental - but it’s still something we need to talk about.

I think one of the biggest misunderstandings, particularly in this fandom, is the origin of the ‘dead dove do not eat’ tag. People more eloquent than me have summarized this before but basically the phrase comes from a sitcom episode in which a character opens a fridge, sees a bag in there labelled ‘dead dove: do not eat’, and proceeds to open the bag to see what’s inside. There is indeed a dead dove in the bag and the character says, “I don’t know what I expected.” The point is that the character had been warned what was inside the bag, and chose to look anyway. In terms of fandom, this phrase became a tag to indicate that whatever is on the tin, whatever warnings are in the tags, are going to be inside that particular content - you’ve been warned, essentially. Unfortunately, this tag has started to morph into a replacement for specific trigger warnings, being commonly misunderstood as a blanket trigger warning itself. It’s not. Some people may be alright with reading certain dark topics or themes but stay away from others -  for instance, you may be alright with fics that contain the graphic violence tag but not ones that include SA or rape. If the fic or post is labelled with the ‘dead dove’ tag, how are you meant to know which triggers or themes will be addressed specifically?

This is not to say that dark fic and dark content should not be created. This is the internet - you can post whatever you want, and that’s fine! That’s your right! It’s what we’re all here for! But freedom to post what you like does not constitute freedom from consequences. Content creators, in posting to widespread communities on the internet, have a responsibility to that community. You cannot put the onus on everyone else to curate their own experience if your content is unable to be curated. Regulating content is done through tags. People curate what they see by blocking or blacklisting tags. That means that fic and content must be tagged correctly for this to be done. It’s not enough to be aware that certain authors and certain blogs will post this content - many new fandom members likely do not know this.

Most recent mis-tagging incidents in this fandom have been honest mistakes, and the point of this post is not to name-and-shame or condemn any users. It happens! But when there have been frequent incidents, it’s important to take a step back and review our understanding of tagging and content curation so that we’re all on the same page.

#dinluke #I don't often put my two cents into fandom things but #this has been a bit of an ongoing issue #once again this is not an attack on anyone or the dark dinluke fandom #I've just noticed some uncertainty about specific tags and terms #tw sex abuse #tw rape #tw violence